Over the past decade, Mainland China has sent an unprecedented number of students to the United States. In 2021, one of every three international students in the US was from China.1 And, in 2020 alone, Chinese students contributed more to the economy of the American education sector than the next top seven source markets combined—including the entire European Union.
In today’s ApplyInsights, we’ll dive into the growth of China in the US’s international education sector since 2009. We’ll look at the rapid rise of the Chinese market, what Chinese students are studying in the US, and what the US should pay attention to moving forward.
Key Insights at a Glance
- Chinese student inflows peaked at just under 372,000 in 2019/20.
- In 2009/10, China became the first country to account for over 18% of the US’s international student body. In 2020/21, this had grown to nearly 35%.
- Chinese students contributed more than $14 billion to the American education sector in 2020.
- The US has routinely attracted more Chinese students than the UK and Canada combined. However, the UK has trended upward over the past several years, representing increased competition for the US moving forward.
- 50% of Chinese students in the US were in STEM fields in 2020/21.
This is the first in our new series looking at source market trends in the US. Stay tuned for articles on India, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia in the coming months.
The US’s Growing Reliance on Chinese Enrollment
China took over as the number one source market for international students in the US during the 2009/10 academic year, and hasn’t looked back. The chart below shows the rise in both the total number of Chinese students in the US over the past decade, as well as China’s percentage of the US’s overall international student population.
China became the number one source market with 127,000 students in 2009/10, and accounted for 18.5% of all international students in the US that year. By 2020/21, the total number of Chinese students in the US increased to 317,000, representing a growth of 149% over the decade. The 317,000 students from China also accounted for 34.7% of all international students in the US in 2020/21. The total number of Chinese students in the US peaked at 372,000 in 2019/20.
This larger snapshot of the source market helps put into perspective China’s importance to the American education sector. Over the past decade, China’s share of the overall international student population in the US nearly doubled. Going back to 1949/50, no country ever accounted for more than 18% of the US’s total international student population until China did so in 2009/10, let alone a percentage as high as the mid-30s like we’ve seen over the past few years.
While China’s growth has slowed over the decade, the rate of growth fell below 5% for the first time in 2017/18. For perspective, all other source markets combined grew by more than 5% in only two academic years from 2010/11 to 2020/21. Also, the total number of students from the rest of the world has dropped in three straight academic years, whereas 2020/21 was the first drop of Chinese students in the US.
The number of Chinese students in the US fell by more than 55,000 in 2020/21. This was 40% higher than the total number of South Korean students in the US, the third-largest source market.
Destination Markets for Chinese Students, and Why the UK Poses Stiffer Competition for the US
Home to more than 300,000 Chinese students since 2014/15, the US is clearly a popular destination market in China. How does this compare to other destination markets?
More Chinese students have routinely gone to study in America than in Canada and the UK combined. However, the UK has shown significant upward trends in recent years, and it could eventually challenge the US as the top destination market for Chinese students if it can continue this momentum.
While growth in the North American markets tapered off in the latter half of the last decade, the UK’s growth rate exceeded double digits for three straight years starting in 2017/18. Also, the UK’s Chinese student cohort grew 1% in 2020/21 despite a global slowdown for international education from COVID-19 restrictions. Both North American markets dropped by 15% or more in 2020/21.
Helping increase its competitiveness for attracting Chinese students, the UK offers over 250 Transnational Education (TNE) courses in China. TNE courses allow students to study locally while enrolled at a UK institution, and many include an option for students to eventually study in the UK as part of their degree. Also, the UK recently introduced the new Graduate Route, which has helped fuel record-breaking international enrollment.
Further attracting students to the UK is the growing number of high-skilled job opportunities.
Chinese students contributed $14 billion to the American international education sector in 2020, representing nearly 37% of the sector’s economy that year. Given its reliance on China as a source for students, the US should pay close attention to the rising competitiveness of the UK moving forward.
Why Has the Growth of China’s Student Population Slowed in the US, and What Is Being Done About It?
COVID-19 created a global slowdown for international education. Borders closed, visa processing times rose, and many students showed hesitancy to study abroad. However, as we see above, the Chinese market’s growth began tapering in the US much earlier than the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
Growing tension in the bilateral relationship between America and China has hampered the education sector’s ability to attract Chinese talent, compounded by several unfriendly policies enacted by the Trump administration that placed certain restrictions on Chinese students.2
However, in July 2021, the US Departments of State and Education issued their first joint statement in over two decades in support of the country’s international education mission. This joint statement made clear the US’s commitment to restoring its reputation with international students. Reiterating this commitment, the Biden administration announced policy changes to create additional post-graduate work opportunities for international students studying STEM earlier this year.
What Do Chinese Students Study in the US?
The chart below shows the number of Chinese students across the different study levels of the US’s higher education market since 2015/16:
Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows students to find off-campus employment or internships in their field of study. Of the four study levels, OPT had the largest year-over-year growth rate every academic year since 2015/16. Also, in 2020/21, OPT was the only study level to remain above its total from 2015/16.
Undergraduate studies has long been the most popular study level for Chinese students in the US, though growth at this level tapered off in 2018/19. This slowdown has allowed the graduate level to narrow the gap. The undergraduate level fell by more than 15% in 2020/21, two percentage points more than graduate studies.
The non-degree sector has declined every year since 2017/18. It fell by more than 53% in 2020/21.
More Chinese Students Entering STEM
In the chart below, we see that STEM has become the increasingly dominant field of study Chinese students choose to enter in the US.3
STEM accounted for more than 50% of Chinese students in the US in 2020/21, up nearly eight percentage points compared to 2015/16. Math and computer science has become the most popular STEM field for Chinese students, surpassing engineering as it jumped from 14% in 2015/16 to 22% in 2020/21.
Liberal arts and professional studies jumped into the second most popular field of study in 2019/20 and continued its upward trend in 2020/21.4 Social sciences has been the most popular individual field within liberal arts and professional studies, growing from just under 9% to just under 10% from 2015/16 to 2020/21. Fine and applied arts is down half a percentage point over this time frame.
Business and management had the largest decline over the past six years, dropping from 24% to under 17%. Interestingly, business and management also saw a significant shift in the UK, accounting for 44% of all Chinese students in 2016/17 but dropping to 38% in 2019/20. For Canada, however, the field of study slightly grew, increasing from 22% to 23% from 2016/17 to 2020/21.
Other fields of study is also down over the same period, as intensive English declined by nearly two percentage points.5
Looking Forward
The US has long been a popular destination market for Chinese students due to its highly regarded institutions and its reputation for offering plentiful job opportunities with higher pay compared to other countries. However, during the Trump administration and the COVID-19 slowdown, Chinese students showed that they are not afraid to look elsewhere when alienated by unfriendly immigration policies. The UK market’s increased competitiveness should be of particular concern for the American education sector, given the latter’s increased reliance on the Chinese market.
Also of note, the quantity, quality, and global reach of many Chinese domestic institutions have expanded over the past two decades, providing students more research collaboration opportunities and postgraduate job prospects than ever before.6 Studies show that student outflows drop when a country significantly improves its accessibility and quality of higher education—as China has achieved—leading experts to believe that destination markets could see decreased demand from Chinese students over the next five years.7
Here are a few suggestions we believe would help increase the US’s competitiveness among Chinese students:
- Continue developing non-partisan policies that help students gain work experience, such as the recent expansion of OPT.
- As affordability becomes more important due to rising inflation, promote its world-class institutions in low cost of living states.
- Leverage already existing Chinese communities and alumni who can speak to prospective students about the experiences and benefits of studying abroad.
- Establish articulation agreements with domestic Chinese institutions, as well as short-term courses, to build corridors for Chinese students to enroll in longer, degree-granting programs.
Subscribe to ApplyInsights
Sign up for the latest insights on international education.
About the ApplyInsights Team
FOOTNOTES:
1. All figures include undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs, as well as students enrolled in the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program. All enrollment numbers are calculated based on academic year. US data courtesy of the Institute of International Education (IIE).
2. Pew Research Center, Amid pandemic, international student enrollment at U.S. universities fell 15% in the 2020-21 school year. December 2021.
3. The STEM field of study consists of engineering, health professions, math and computer science, and physical and life sciences.
4. Liberal arts and professional studies consists of education, fine and applied arts, humanities, and social sciences.
5. Other fields of study also includes undeclared degrees and intensive English.
6. The Conversation, 5 reasons Chinese students may stop studying in the US. August 2020.
7. THE, Chinese student flows tipped to peak within five years. May 2022.
